October 22, 2025
Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth
Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 475
Reading
1
Brothers and
sisters:
Sin must not reign over your mortal bodies
so that you obey their desires.
And do not present the parts of your bodies to sin
as weapons for wickedness,
but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life
and the parts of your bodies to God
as weapons for righteousness.
For sin is not to have any power over you,
since you are not under the law but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law
but under grace?
Of course not!
Do you not know that if you present yourselves
to someone as obedient slaves,
you are slaves of the one you obey,
either of sin, which leads to death,
or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin,
you have become obedient from the heart
to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted.
Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.
Responsorial
Psalm
R. (8a) Our
help is in the name of the Lord.
Had not the LORD been with us,
let Israel say, had not the LORD been with us–
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive;
When their fury was inflamed against us.
R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD, who did not leave us
a prey to their teeth.
R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
We were rescued like a bird
from the fowlers' snare;
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his
disciples:
"Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
Then Peter said,
"Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"
And the Lord replied,
"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, he will put him
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
'My master is delayed in coming,'
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant's master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master's will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102225.cfm
Commentary on Romans 6:12-18
Today we
move into chapter 6 of Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Even spreading this letter
over four weeks, there are many wonderful passages which have to be omitted.
The only solution is to go through the whole letter ourselves in our own time.
Having
again spoken of the contrast between Adam and Christ and said some words about
baptism, Paul goes on to say that goodness, not sin, must be in charge of our
lives. Just before this, he had told the Romans:
The
death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to
God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in
Christ Jesus. (Rom
6:10-11)
And so,
Paul continues in today’s reading:
Therefore
do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies, so that you obey their desires. No
longer present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness…
Though
baptism destroys sin in us, as long as we are still in this world and our body
has not yet “put on immortality” (1 Cor 15:54), sin can still find a way to
reassert itself in a ‘mortal’ body, where sensuality still has a hold. Instead,
we are to surrender ourselves totally to God, as people who have been brought
to life from the death of sin. We are to offer all our human
capacities—spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social—to God so that they will
become instruments leading us to goodness of life:
For sin
will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Paul
conceived of sin as a power that enslaves, and so personified it. ‘Not under
law’ means no longer under the regime of the Mosaic Law, whose external
observance was the basis for the Jewish way of life.
He is
certainly not saying that the Christian has been freed from all moral
authority. Law, by itself, provides no enablement to resist the power of sin.
On the contrary, violation of the Law only increases the awareness of sin.
Grace, on the other hand, enables and liberates. Its only law is the law of
love (agape-love).
Apparently
some people were countering that, if we are no longer bound by the Law, but by
‘grace’, then people could do what they liked. “By no means!” thunders Paul.
That seemed to be Luther’s position with his famous dictum of Pecca
fortiter (Sin vigorously). Luther seemed to say that once we have
committed ourselves in faith to Jesus as Lord, our sinfulness, which will
inexorably continue, will be ‘over-looked’ or ‘covered over’ by Christ’s grace.
We saw that Luther’s interpretation of Paul was partly influenced by his own
apparent impotence in overcoming his lower appetites. He needed a way to be
with Christ even in his sinfulness.
However,
even this is not quite the same as saying that, once we are under grace, we can
throw morality to the winds, that we can do what we absolutely like with
impunity. No Christian could hold that position. We part company with Luther
when he says that we are powerless to become better people, good people.
Paul
totally rejects the idea that, with grace, we can forget about moral behaviour.
To have committed oneself to Christ totally must result in an inner
transformation which steers us in the direction of goodness and love. To be in
Christ is to be free, not freedom to sin, but freedom not to
sin. True freedom is the ability to choose the good. Sin, as a choice of evil,
can never be an expression of true freedom; it is an abuse of freedom.
The Jerusalem
Bible comments on the freedom that comes from Christ:
“Christ
has freed human beings from evil so as to restore them to God. Paul develops
the biblical ideas of ‘redemption’ and of liberation from death, and in order
to bring out their implication makes frequent use of a metaphor that his
contemporaries would find impressive: the slave redeemed and set free who can
be a slave no longer, but must serve his new master freely and faithfully.
Christ has paid for our redemption with his life; and he has made us
permanently free. The Christian must be careful not to let himself be caught
again by those who once owned him, i.e. by sin; the Law, with its ritual
observance; the principles of the world; and corruption. He is a free man, son
of a free mother, i.e. the spiritual Jerusalem. This liberty is not licence to
sin. It means serving a new master, God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom the
Christian now belongs, for whom he lives and dies; this obedient service is
prompted by faith and leads to righteousness and holiness. This is the sort of
freedom a son has, one who has been made free by ‘the law of the Spirit’. And,
he must be prepared to surrender his own freedom to serve his neighbour in
charity and respect if someone else’s scruples require it. Slavery as a social
institution may be tolerated in a society that is, after all, transient. It has
no real significance in the new order established by Christ: the Christian
slave has been enfranchised by the Lord Christ, and the slave and his master
are equally servants of Christ.” (edited and textual references omitted)
Paul then
goes on to distinguish two kinds of slavery:
Do you
not know that, if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are
slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of
obedience, which leads to righteousness?
To become
a slave is to be put under the will and control of another person. To be the
slave of sin can only result in death, but to be truly obedient to
righteousness leads to life.
The word
‘obedience’ contains the root of the verb ‘to hear’. To turn a deaf ear to
goodness and submit to evil leads to sin and death. To listen to the voice of
goodness and submit to it is the way to life.
We have a
striking example in Jesus who, in obedience to his Father, offered up his whole
body in life and in death for our liberation. In his Letter to the Philippians,
Paul says that Jesus:
…emptied
himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness. And being found
in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point
of death—even death on a cross. (Phil
2:7-8)
We,
because of and through Christ, have exchanged one form of slavery for another:
But
thanks be to God that you who were slaves of sin have become obedient from the
heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted and that you, having
been set free from sin, have become enslaved to righteousness.
To “become
obedient” implies willing submission and not an obedience that is forced,
imposed or legalistic. Christians have changed masters. From being slaves to
sin, they have become slaves to ‘righteousness’, to that inner goodness that
results from opening oneself to the love of God that comes through ‘grace’.
On the
other hand, being ‘under the law’ meant looking for personal salvation by
obeying external rules and regulations. As we see in the case of many
Pharisees, it led to arrogance and a very dangerous kind of inner corruption.
Such a corruption can infect us Christians too, if we are not careful. When we
surrender to a life of sin, we are headed for death. When we surrender
ourselves to God it leads to justice, to goodness. Paradoxically, to become the
slave of “justice”, or righteousness, is to become free.
Freedom,
as we said, is the ability to identify totally with the good. To use one’s
freedom to sin is a contradiction. True freedom enables us to choose the good
and loving act at all times and in every situation.
Although
some may not see it that way, there is no one who enjoys more real freedom than
the one who is totally committed to the Way of Jesus. Because it is the Way, it
is the Vision of life, to which we are called by the deepest needs of our
being.
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Commentary on Luke 12:39-48
Today we
have some further warnings on readiness. The unpredictability of God’s coming
for the final call is compared to a thief breaking into one’s house. If one
knew when the thief was coming, one would be prepared and have everything well
locked up. Many people have had the experience of being burgled or of having
their pocket picked. The point is that we do not know the day or the hour:
…the
Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Peter asks
if this image is just for the disciples or for the whole world. Jesus answers
by telling a parable.
A faithful
and farsighted steward is one who is found doing his job for the household
whenever the master returns. The ‘steward’ was one who had responsibility over
the other servants, and Jesus could be referring here to his Apostles and other
leaders of the Christian community. A trusted slave (‘servant’) too could
sometimes be put in charge of an estate.
But if the
steward feels that the master is “taking his time in coming” (i.e. delayed) and
sets about abusing the rest of his staff and wasting his time in debauching
himself, he will be severely punished when his master returns unexpectedly. We
know that the early Christians believed that Jesus would return during their
lifetime, but as time went on and there was no sign of Jesus, Christians could
be tempted to become less vigilant and begin to ‘live it up’. It was a
dangerous thing to do.
Then Jesus
makes a distinction. Those who know their master’s wishes (like his disciples),
but are found misbehaving when he returns, will be severely punished. Those who
do not know (non-disciples, outsiders) will still be punished for doing wrong,
but their punishment will be less severe than that of those who have received
their master’s teaching and instructions:
From
everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required, and from the one
to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.
We as
Christians, with the guidance of the Scriptures and the teaching of the Church,
bear far greater responsibility for the wrongs we do than others, such as
non-Christians or non-religious people, who have less guidance.
Within the
Church, there are people who are better formed and better informed, and they
too bear greater responsibility before God. At the same time, it might be worth
pointing out that those who could avail themselves of such formation and
information and fail to do so may be also liable to greater accountability. We
need to distinguish between nescience and ignorance. Nescience is simply not
knowing or not being aware of some truth or value. Ignorance is not knowing
what I ought to know and have every opportunity of coming to know.
Ignorance
may sometimes be bliss, but not where knowing Jesus and the Gospel is
concerned. And wisdom, far from being folly, is a gift to be treasured.
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Wednesday,
October 22, 2025
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God,
our source of power and inspiration, give us strength and joy
in serving you as followers of Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Luke 12: 39-48
Jesus said to his disciples. 'You may be quite sure of this,
that if the householder had known at what time the burglar would come, he would
not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand
ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.'
Peter said, 'Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for
everyone?'
The Lord replied, 'Who, then, is
the wise and trustworthy steward whom the master will place over his household
to give them at the proper time their allowance of food?
Blessed that servant if his master's arrival finds him doing
exactly that. I tell you truly, he will put him in charge of everything that he
owns. But if the servant says to himself, "My master is taking his time
coming," and sets about beating the menservants and the servant-girls, and
eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does
not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and
send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.
'The servant who knows what his master wants, but has got
nothing ready and done nothing in accord with those wishes, will be given a
great many strokes of the lash.
The one who did not know, but has acted in such a way that he
deserves a beating, will be given fewer strokes. When someone is given a great
deal, a great deal will be demanded of that person; when someone is entrusted
with a great deal, of that person even more will be expected.
Reflection
Today’s Gospel presents again the exhortation to vigilance
with two other parables. Yesterday, it was the parable of the Master and of the
servant (Lk 12: 36-38). Today, the first parable is the one of the householder
and the burglar (Lk
12: 39-40) and the other one
speaks of the one of the master and the steward (Lk 12: 41-47).
•
Luke 12: 39-40 - The parable of the householder
and of the burglar. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had
known at what time the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break
through the walls of the house. You too must stand ready, because the son of
man is coming at an hour you do not expect. So just as the householder does not
know at what hour the burglar will come, in the same way, no one knows the hour
when the son of Man will arrive. Jesus says this very clearly: "But as for
that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son,
no one but the Father!” (Mk 13: 32). Today many people live worried about the
end of the world. On the streets of the cities, we see written on the walls:
Jesus will return! There are even persons who are in anguish because of the
proximity of the end of the world, and they commit suicide. But time goes by
and the end of the world does not arrive! Many times, the affirmation “Jesus
will return” is used to frighten people and oblige them to go to a determinate
church! After that long wait and speculation around the coming of Jesus, many
people no longer perceive the presence in our midst, in the most common things
of life, in daily events. What is important is not to know the hour of the end
of the world, but rather to have a look capable of perceiving the coming of
Jesus who is already present in our midst in the person of the poor (cf Mt 25:
40) and in so many other ways and events of everyday life.
•
Luke 12: 41 - Peter’s question. “Then, Peter
said, Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone? The reason for
this question asked by Peter is not clearly understood. It recalls another
episode, in which Jesus responds to a similar question saying: “To you it is
granted to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is
not granted” (Mt 13: 10-11; Lk 8: 9-10).
•
Luke 12: 42-48ª - The parable of the householder
and the steward. In the response to Peter’s question, Jesus formulates another
question in the form of a parable: “Who then is the wise and trustworthy
steward whom the master will place over his household to give them at the
proper time their allowance of food?” Immediately after, Jesus himself gives
the response in the parable: the good steward is the one who carries out his
mission of servant, he does not use the goods received for his own advantage,
and is always vigilant and attentive. Perhaps this is an indirect response to
Peter’s question, as if he would say: “Peter, the parable is really for you! It
is up to you to know how to administer well the mission which God has given
you: to coordinate the communities. In this sense, the response is also valid
for each one of us. And here the final warning acquires much sense: “When
someone is given a great deal, a great deal will be demanded of that person;
when someone is entrusted with a great deal, of that person even more will be
expected.”
•
The coming of the Son of Man and the end of this
world. The same problems existed in the Christian communities of the first
centuries. Many people of the communities said that the end of this world was
close at hand and that Jesus would return afterwards. Some from the community
of Thessalonica in Greece, basing themselves in Paul’s preaching said: “Jesus
will return!” (1Th 4: 13-18; 2Th 2: 2). And because of this, there were even
persons who no longer worked, because they thought that the coming would be within
a few days or few weeks. Why work if Jesus would return? (cf 2 Th 3: 11). Paul
responds that it was not so simple as it seemed, and to those who did not work
he would warn: “He who does not work has no right to eat!” Others remained
looking up to Heaven, waiting for the return of Jesus on the clouds (cf. Ac 1:
11). And others did not like to wait (2Pt 3: 4-9). In general, the Christians
lived expecting the imminent coming of Jesus. Jesus would come for the Final
Judgment to end with the unjust history of this world here below and to
inaugurate a new phase of history, the definitive phase of the New Heavens and
the New Earth. They thought that it would take place after one or two
generations. Many people would still be alive when Jesus would appear glorious
in Heaven (1Th 4: 16-17; Mk 9: 1). Others, tired of waiting would say: “He will
never come back!” (2P 3: 4). Even up until today the final return of Jesus has
not yet taken place! How can this delay be understood? We are not aware that
Jesus has already returned, and that he is in our midst: “Look, I am with you
always, yes, till the end of time.” (Mt 28: 20). He is already at our side in
the struggle for justice, for peace and for life. The plenitude, the fullness
has not been attained, but an example or guarantee of the Kingdom is already in
our midst. This is why, we wait with firm hope the total liberation of humanity
and of nature (Rm 8: 22-25). And when we wait and we struggle, we say rightly:
“He is already in our midst!” (Mt 25: 40).
Personal Questions
•
The response of Jesus to Peter serves also for
us, for me. Am I a good administrator of the mission which I have received?
•
What do I do in order to be always vigilant?
Concluding Prayer
From the rising of the sun to its setting, praised be the name
of Yahweh!
Supreme over all nations is Yahweh, supreme over the heavens
his glory. (Ps 113: 3-4)
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